A: This might not be the answer you expect, but I believe that the commercial or business terms are 100% the "key" or "most important" part of a Referral Partner Agreement. If you get that right, the legal provisions can be drafted to match, and you're much less likely to have a disgruntled partner overall. Specifically, the amount, frequency, and duration of the commission should coincide with other terms like exclusivity/non-exclusivity, how long commissions continue (i.e., one-time or for the duration of the end-user relationship), and other specifics that depend on the nature of your service, your customers, and your partners. Once you get the structure set, the legal provisions will naturally flow from there!
A: In general, contract terms can make someone an employee, but cannot ensure independent contractor status. Essentially, the contract can set out IC terms, but if those terms are not followed in practice, the contract itself can't fix that. Under California AB, there is an exemption for dentists from the strict "ABC" test, but dentists will still need to meet a number of other requirements that are often, in practice, difficult to meet. For example, they would have to be "open to the public" and actually performing the same of similar services for others - so working for a single dental office typically will not pass the test!
A: This is a pretty standard document. The biggest concern is just making sure that the document reflects the reality of how customer data will be used. Usually a Privacy Policy is referenced in the terms, and is likely one of the most important documents for a CA startup.
